The First Steps
by Guillum
Summary: Sequel to Bandits Approaching the Entrance. The Stargate Program and the Atlantis Expedition are public knowledge, and it's time for Atlantis to return to Pegasus. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**The First Steps**

**Chapter One: Prologue**

**Extract from the best-selling memoirs of Samantha Carter: 'Deep-Space Radar Telemetry'.**

_After the speech at the UN, well, that's when it all changed, of course. We answered the questions as well as we could before referring them to the briefing packs that were being distributed. On the advice of George Bates, our security consultant, we returned to the IOA headquarters in our Alteran gateship, just in time to see Henry Hayes's joint press-conference with President Obama and General O'Neill, and that's when it really started to sink in for all of us. Seeing Jack up there, discussing SGC in the White House pressroom was a bigger deal for me, believe it or not, than actually standing and speaking in front of a gathering of multinational diplomats! _

_In any case, I'd like to think that we did a good job. It had been President Obama's intention to disclose the program anyway during his term in office, and given the turmoil that we experienced as a planet, I think that that could have been a better choice, especially considering what happened on the day of the new President's inauguration._

_I was in the group on the Capitol steps on that day, and we'd just watched the _Daedalus_ and _Odyssey_ perform their flypast after the inauguration and speeches, complete with a short formation display by their F-302 squadrons. Colonel Davis crept up behind me and whispered that there was an urgent matter to attend to. That was when I found out about the attack. A co-ordinated strike by Al-Qaeda on Coalition bases in Baghdad, Basra, Kabul and Helmand, using radiological weapons. The rest we all know now, that the Trust had also infiltrated some of the world's terrorist organisations, but the deaths and mutilations of all those servicemen was shocking. In the end, we felt we had no choice but to involve our so called 'alien' technological advantages in hunting down the perpetrators. The eventual capture of the Al-Qaeda leadership and the trial of Osama Bin-laden was taken, grudgingly by some, as a great success for the US._

_However, at the time, the attacks only added to the volatile political situation. The vote of no-confidence in the British Prime Minister after Disclosure was not especially surprising, but their expulsion from the EU, led by Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Eastern European nations was a great surprise at the time, given that we didn't know of the French behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, which tainted relations between the two countries for a few years. _

_The biggest problem was the Global South bloc, gathered in response to the IOA. Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia surged to the political Left and were verging on open communism. Israel faced an unprecedented wave of violence from all sides, although, thankfully, there was no outright invasion._

_The galactic situation was also of some concern. Our main challenges since the end of the Ori crusade were aiding reconstruction of worlds that had been severely depopulated from both the Ori and the Replicator incursion of a few years previously, locating and suppressing rogue elements of the Ori forces that refused to surrender, and locating a small but dangerous cadre of former minor Goa'uld that had evaded both ourselves, the Jaffa and the Tok'ra._

_The situation in Pegasus was even more unstable. The Wraith were deeply unpredictable, and we had very little intelligence on their bases or even their most important planets. Furthermore, without Atlantis there (at that point), and Earth representation consisting solely of the Aleph Base and the _Sun Tzu,_ the Pegasus Coalition was becoming obstinate, particularly the Genii, who had gone once again into a state of barely-concealed hostility._

_On the positive side, the _USS George Hammond_ was officially commissioned at the start of February. General O'Neill made a typically eloquent speech about our former commanding officer, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The launch of the _Hammond _was followed in March by that of the _RFSGagarin_ and _HMS Ajax._ These three new ships field-tested a few new systems developed at Area 51, including a prototype Asgard-designed neutrino-ion generator and a through-bay hangar system. The use of the Asgard power source allowed us to start using their technology more extensively, including their sublight engines. The advantage of these systems was in their superior packaging. They delivered much better results than naquadah-based generation in a smaller footprint, and this had a snowball effect on the combat effectiveness of our fleet._

_Area 51's work with the Asgard core was finally starting to yield results. In addition to the new 304s, they were working on two new craft, which would become the SF-1 and the Ida-class, neither which I hadn't seen at that point, and furthermore, they were also considering ideas for a large command-ship class, to form the centrepieces of the fleet._

_Earth-bound technology made a leap, particularly that of power-generation. Rodney McKay and I helped with the testing of naquadah-based power generation equipment at a number of power stations in France and Germany. The initial signs were very promising, and Rolls-Royce, Westinghouse, and the Area 51 engineering teams were all working on competing reactor designs for eventual deployment worldwide._

_In April 2009, preparations were almost complete for Atlantis's return to the Pegasus galaxy. There had been a lot of negotiating over the city's future, with a group led by the Global South bloc demanding that the city stay on Earth, and that it be placed under a democratic-socialist administration. Apparently the IOA managed to listen politely to the proposal before Woolsey famously dismissed them with a pithy 'The needs of the many' quote._

_At the end of April, the city was ready. McKay, Radek Zelenka and a horde of engineers, scientists and technicians had managed to repair almost all of the damage done to the city, in addition to installing a more thorough defence system of beam weapons, surface to orbit missiles and updated railguns. There were also a few changes in Atlantis's power structure. Woolsey stayed on as leader, but he was joined by Shen Xiaoyi, who was his deputy, and Daniel, who acted as the civilian counterpart to the newly-promoted Colonel Sheppard, in addition to expanding his research on the Ancients.  
_

_At that point, in the dying days of April, the British Prime Minister paid the city a visit, to take the tour and have a few last-minute discussions with Richard Woolsey as to the upcoming departure._


	2. Chapter 2

**The First Steps**

**Chapter 2**

**Unknown Planet**

The environment was an inhospitable mix of carbon dioxide, methane and swirling hydrocarbons. Temperatures on the surface were high enough to melt lead, and the pressure high enough to crush a submarine. Through the soupy atmosphere, a small lone ship descended, the pressure and temperature steadily increasing, causing the shields of the ship to activate and take the pressure. The ship descended smoothly towards one of several beacons scattered across the as-yet invisible surface.

As the ship sighted the ground, and after a short exchange between pilot and ground control, a shaft of light stabbed upwards into the murk as hangar doors opened.

The pilot would never admit to such emotions, but he was glad to have returned home. His kind were naturally cautious and did not venture out into the galaxy often, and his mission, although vital, was fraught with risk, and his people did not take risks lightly.

The ship settled lightly onto the landing pad, and the hangar doors closed smoothly above, hinting at the graceful technology of a long-dead race. Filtration systems hissed as the toxic gases were drawn from the hangar area and replaced with the nitrogen-oxygen mix essential to so many races in the universe.

The pilot emerged from the ship, en route to his superiors. He had a simple message from his contact.

The way was clear to start taking a more assertive role in galactic affairs.

**Groom Lake AFB, Nevada, Earth**

"As we can see from this diagram, the new engine design will be uniquely suited to operations in both atmosphere and space, offering vastly increased delta-v compared to the hybrid rockets of the F-302," Doctor Lee said excitedly, gesturing to a presentation of incomprehensible schematics. After a few seconds, the assembled engineers, scientists and John Sheppard broke into a smattering of applause.

"Couldn't he have said that an hour ago?" Sheppard asked his companion quietly.

"Sorry, John. Bill's been working on the new engines since the Odyssey came back from Orilla. It's not easy to condense years of research into a few minutes," Brigadier General Samantha Carter said back to him. "Besides, would you have preferred to hear McKay talk about his _brilliant_ work with the _Enterprise_?"

"I did have a spot in Zelenka's talk about 'big honking space guns', as General O' Neill called them, but Mitchell stole my ticket," Sheppard replied as Lee was accosted by a BAE Systems delegation. "Boy, I'm glad that these usually happen while we're in Pegasus. Where next?"

"Tour and launch of the _Ajax_, then a presentation from Boeing ," Carter said, rifling through her programme. The base at Groom Lake, formerly known as Area 51, had an annual tradition of hosting a conference to showcase and discuss new technology, techniques and research from Area 51, Atlantis and the contingent at SGC, as well as hear proposals from industry. Now that the program was public and the initial work on data from the Asgard core was yielding results, the place was jam-packed with scientists, defence industry representatives, military personnel and probably dozens of people snooping around for various intelligence agencies.

Sheppard and Carter fought their way out of the scrum. Bill Lee's new engines were piquing the interest of every defence contractor on the planet, it seemed. Eventually they left the hall, to be confronted with General O'Neill and Colonel Mitchell.

"Hey there," the three-star head of Homeworld Security said jovially. Sheppard sent Mitchell a mildly irked look. "Ready for the big event?"

"You bet, sir," Carter replied as the four made their way over to a lift, which led down to the underground hangars. "What's Radek cooked up?"

"He's got a few prototype rotary energy cannons running. Says they could replace the point-defence GAU-8s," O'Neill said. "No turbolasers, though, which didn't please the press,"

The lift rumbled to a stop, and the doors slid open to reveal a dark-haired, middle-aged man in the uniform of a Royal Navy captain, who promptly stiffened up for the two USAF generals.

"Generals, Colonels, welcome. I am Captain Dalton, commanding officer of the _Ajax_," he said as handshakes were exchanged.

"Pleasure to meet ya," O'Neill said as they walked down a short corridor. "How's the ship?"

"The shakedown cruises were without major incident, other than a few hyperdrive wobbles. It will be interesting to see how a crew drawn from a purely naval background will compare against you Air Force flyboys," Dalton said with a hint of a smile.

The four fighter pilots exchanged brief glances. The fact that the British had not followed the established example and drawn their crew from the RAF had not been lost on the US Navy, who were pushing very hard for ships of their own, and the performance of the _Ajax_ had a lot riding on it.

"Naval, you say," Jack noted. "Where d'ya draw them from?"

"From all over, sir," Dalton said. "The flight deck and ground crew are from the _Invincible_, which has just been decommissioned. The rest are a mix of submariners, with a number of specialists from the destroyer fleet,"

"Interesting," O'Neill remarked absently. The small party reached the end of the corridor, and Dalton swiped his card, causing the doors to slide open.

"And there we have it. Welcome to HMS _Ajax_," he said proudly, indicating the brand-new _Daedalus_-class battlecruiser in the cavernous hangar below.

Carter took in the ship without surprise, as she had been here many times before. The other three noticed a few differences to the first run of ships.

"Bulked it out a bit, huh?" Mitchell said, indicating the extra structure between the dorsal armour plate and the hangar bays.

"Indeed, Colonel. The design for the 304 was amended for the _George Hammond_ onwards," Dalton said. "The implementation of Asgard systems is more successful with each new ship, allowing us to address deficiencies elsewhere. The new sections are invaluable for munitions and supplies storage, giving us a much greater operational endurance,"

As Dalton spoke, Carter suppressed a chuckle, thinking back to when they had retrofit the _Daedalus _and _Apollo_ with the beam weapons, and the initial design work for the _Daedalus_-class, started even before Anubis's attack in 2004.

On that, the small group made their way down the gantry toward the ship, with crewmembers scurrying about with various pieces of equipment and tools.

–

Back in the main base, McKay had finished his talk and was now wandering the corridors aimlessly, a million things running through his mind, which ranged from thoughts of lunch to the effect of interstellar dust density on hyperdrive efficiency. His work had centred on making the Aurora-class _Enterprise_ suitable for deploying as a full fleet asset, and by far the most difficult part of that had been adding a neutrino-ion reactor, as both the IOA and the Gate Treaty Alliance militaries were _very_ leery of growing dependent on ZPMs, which they were unable to duplicate. It almost made the headaches of tacking the other various Asgard and Earth-based upgrades fade into insignificance, the Canadian thought.

His musings were interrupted by a familiar face approaching.

"Hey, Radek," he said absent-mindedly. "The brass like your guns?"

"I think so, but they're always wanting more. Maybe they want to blow up a planet," Radek said, looking through a sheaf of notes. "Going to this Boeing thing?"

"Once Earth's latest and greatest leave to start their wonderful mission of clearing orbital debris, yes," Rodney said. Pointing down the corridor, he said: "This way, I think,"

"No, it's that way," Radek said, indicating the other direction with the barest hint of smugness.

"I worked here for a while, I know my way around-"

"How do you explain this, then?" Radek said amusedly, showing Rodney a map.

"Okay, you win this time," Rodney said as he hurried after the Czech scientist.

–

Back on the _Ajax_, the small party stepped onto the bridge. Carter glanced out into the hangar, noting that the ground crews were filing out into their emergency bunkers.

"Captain on deck!" barked the man in the CO's seat as he sprang to his feet. The bustling crew members paused and stiffened as their CO arrived, before being waved back to their duties.

"This is my XO, Commander Peake," Dalton said, indicating the man.

"Like what you've done with the place," Sheppard said softly, referring to the extra stations on the bridge, which were reminiscent of the CICs of almost every naval vessel on the planet.

"All part of the grand naval experiment, Colonel," Dalton said, before turning to Peake. "Status, Commander?"

"All sections report readiness for startup and launch. All munitions and cargo have been stowed, exterior hatches are buttoned down, main reactor is running through startup cycle, sir," the XO said.

"Excellent," the Ajax's first CO said cheerfully. Turning to the four USAF officers, he asked: "It's been a pleasure meeting the four of you. Sir, Ma'am, Colonels,"

They all exchanged handshakes.

"Our pleasure, Captain," O'Neill said. Two seconds later, the four Americans disappeared in the familiar bright flashes of light. Dalton's attention was drawn by his XO.

"Sir, Engineering reports neutrino-ion generator has completed start-up cycle and is at nominal power levels," Commander Peake reported from the status board at the back of the bridge.

"Switch from umbilical to internal power," Dalton ordered crisply. His words were being broadcast through the whole ship, so nobody had any excuses for any screw-ups.

"Switch complete sir, we are running solely on internal power," the engineering officer said as his board went green.

"Good. Cast off umbilicals and ensure all systems are at takeoff readiness,"

Thirty seconds of waiting ensued, as the power and data lines to the ship swung away on their gantries. Peake went round each of the officers on the bridge, ensuring that all systems really were go. _It wouldn't do if we crashed the Navy's most expensive asset on it's second takeoff, not to mention the gigatons of nuclear weapons on board,_ Dalton thought to himself.

"Ship reports full readiness, sir," Peake said. Dalton turned from the window and moved into the centre of the slightly cramped bridge.

"Communications, signal the dockmaster, request takeoff clearance," he ordered.

–

O'Neill, Carter, Mitchell and Sheppard materialised in the control tower just as McKay and Zelenka arrived up the stairs. The tower was located about fifty metres to the front side of the hangar, giving an excellent view of the whole airfield.

"Hey guys, you missed a treat," Sheppard said to the two scientists.

"We would have been here earlier, but Rodney got us lost," Zelenka said, with a sideways glance at the culprit, who merely shrugged.

As the small group settled sgainst the railings, a female voice came over the speakers.

"_Tower, this is Ajax. Request clearance for takeoff," _It was the Ajax's comms officer.

"_Ajax, Tower. Hangar doors opening, cycle will complete in fifteen, repeat, one-five seconds,"_ the disembodied voice of the controller on the floor above said. _"Will signal when cycle is complete,"_

The doors rumbled as they slid apart, exposing the blocky trinium-titanium hull of the ship below. Carter could just make out the words _Ajax_ and _Royal Navy_ proudly emblazoned on the starboard bow of the ship. Sam privately marvelled at the complexities of running a warship. The new commander of the SGC had been in line for command of the _George Hammond_, but had taken the opening at SGC when General Landry retired. Colonel Sobol had got the _Hammond_ position instead, which was fine by Sam, who found running the Cheyenne Mountain Complex to be enough of a challenge.

The voice of the tower operator broke through Sam's thoughts.

"_Ajax, Tower. Doors open, you are cleared for takeoff when ready. Good hunting out there,"_

–

Dalton heard the tower's radio call, and flicked the switch on his chair.

"Tower, Ajax Actual. Roger that, and our thanks to you for your efforts in helping make this ship ready to fly," he said.

"_Ajax Actual, it's been a pleasure. The more of us out there, the merrier,"_ the American voice said proudly.

Dalton smirked slightly.

"Time to vacate this parking space, or the Spams will start charging interest," he said. "Activate inertial dampers, life support and repulsor pads and bring shields to warm standby,"

Crewmembers flicked switches on their boards, and spoke with their counterparts in the bowels of the ship.

"Life support ready, and at nominal efficency, sir!" shouted one.

Dalton felt an almost imperceptible twinge as the inertial dampers activated.

"Inertial dampers at 100%, sir!" shouted another, eyeing a dial on his board.

"Repulsors spinning up, sir!" the chief helm officer said. The gentle humming sound pervading the ship deepened as the systems activated.

"Navigation, how does our flight path look?"

"Clear, sir!"

"Bring sublight engines online," Dalton ordered, mentally running through the takeoff sequence.

A new vibration started up in the deck plates.

"Sublight engines on standby, sir,"

"Very good. Helm, execute primary flight plan. Take us out of the hangar, ten percent _zed_-positive thrust," Dalton ordered. The rumbling in the deck grew stronger as the ventral thrusters fired in conjunction with the repulsors, rising the ship smoothly out of the hangar. Out of the corner of his eye, Dalton could see camera flashes popping as the Royal Navy's first starship hovered above the dry lake-bed.

"Altitude three-zero-zero feet, sir. Ready for main engine firing," the helm chief said.

"Execute. Ten percent thrust," Dalton said.

The two oversized sublight engines flared blue. Thrusting at ten percent, they still raised a large cloud of dust below. A full-power takeoff would destroy the hangar and scorch the hillside behind the base, and was for emergencies only.

Even at ten percent, the _Ajax_ shot forth willingly into the clouds, steadily gaining altitude and throttling up as it was safe to do so.

The X-303 needed thirty seconds to reach a stable orbit. The _Ajax_ rocketed through the upper atmosphere and was in space within fifteen seconds.

Five seconds after that, the main engines shut off as they reached their intended orbit.

"Signal Groom Lake and London. We have established orbit," Dalton ordered. "Raise the containment fields and open fore and aft doors on both hangar bays. Signal the flight commander, he is free to start operations as he sees fit," Receiving nods from all concerned, he relaxed slightly.

"That was a textbook takeoff. Well done, people. Commander, you have the bridge," he said, walking out towards his quarters.

–

"It's always impressive watching those take off. Makes the Saturn V look like a firecracker," Mitchell commented. McKay rolled his eyes.

"Well, if you think _that_ was impressive, wait until Atlantis takes off," he said, almost sounding bored.

"That's so long as you don't wipe everything out within a ten-mile radius doing it," Carter said with a hint of an evil smirk.

"Very funny, General 'I'm way better at blowing up solar systems, as judged by the readers of the _Washington Post_'" McKay grumbled. "Haven't we got somewhere to be right now?"

Carter tried to look innocent, while everyone else walked out, while trying (and in O'Neill's case, failing) not to roll their eyes.

As they walked, Sam noticed an oddly happy look in O'Neill's eyes.

"You already know what this briefing is about, don't you?" she asked.

O'Neill turned to Sam, raising a Teal'c-like eyebrow.

"How perceptive of you, Carter. Yeah, it's worth our while," he said, almost cheerfully.

Eventually they made it to the relevant room, which was laid out much like the SGC's.

After they had taken their seats, a pair of suited men entered, wearing 'VISITOR' badges.

"Generals, Colonels, Doctors, a pleasure. I'm David Emmerich, and this is Carl Matterson," the taller man said, as his colleague handed out folders, which were merely marked 'Secret' instead of the more usual 'Top Secret'.

"We're here today to update you on the progress of the SF-1 project, the second-generation aerospace fighter," Matterson said. The two colonels and brigadier general on the room scanned down the first page of specifications, and they seemed to like it. McKay was skimming thought he whole thing.

"Proceed, gentlemen" O'Neill said for the others.

"Progress has been good. We're in the middle of building the first prototype, and there have been few problems apart from the usual. The biggest headaches have come from the engines and wing-folding structures," Matterson said.

"Excuse me," Zelenka asked sceptically. "Wing-folding?"

"The drawings are on the second page," Emmerich said helpfully.

The officers flicked their pages over, and Mitchell's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Wow, that looks cool," Sheppard said of the sharp, angular design. It bore some resemblance to both the F-22 and the Eurofighter. It looked mean, and the four pilots fell in love with it instantly.

"As you can see, the wing root retracts into the fuselage," Emmerich said. "When retracted, the craft has a wingspan of five-hundred and sixty-three centimetres,"

"So it can fit through a Stargate," Carter said, eyes smiling widely.

"That is going to be damn useful out in Pegasus," Sheppard said. "When do we get them?"

–

Apologies for the obscene delay in updating this. Exams, life, and all that.

There are number of differences between the first 304s, Daedalus, Odyssey, Sun Tzu (the Apollo was destroyed by the uber-hive) and the _Hammond_, _Ajax_ and the _Gagarin_, (which is the new Russian ship).

The new ships have only two sublight engines, but they're more powerful and slightly larger, glowing blue. The hangar decks are straight-through, making it easier to recover fighters, and they're powered by Asgard neutrino-ion generators, which are much more powerful and compact than naquadah generation. As noted in the chapter, there is also structure between the top of the hangars, used for munitions and supplies stowage.

The SF-1 is a new fighter design, and it looks uncannily similar to the X-36 tail-less prototype...

Next, Atlantis, _Enterprise, Odyssey, Daedalus _and_ Ajax _sod off back to Pegasus.


	3. Chapter 3

**The First Steps**

**Chapter 3**

**Atlantis, Bristol Channel, Earth. T-minus 60 minutes.**

"How we doing, Chuck?" Rodney asked. Pre-flight preparations for their return to Pegsasus were progressing well, so far.

"All systems nominal, Doctor," Chuck said. "Non-essential systems are being locked down, and the last group is ready to beam up to the _Enterprise_. Once they're away, Sheppard will block the Stargate with a Jumper,"

Rodney nodded absently and glanced down into the gateroom. Spotting one face in particular, he hurried down the stairs.

"Hey," Rodney said warmly.

"Hello, Saviour of the Universe," Keller said amusedly, before dropping the smile. "I'm not that happy about having to pack everything up and make the trip on the _Enterprise_. Why can't we stay in the city?"

Rodney had enough sense to look uncomfortable. "Woolsey and O'Neill want as few people here as possible," he said. "Even those of us who are staying have to wear pressure suits when outside the gateroom, in case the shield fails en-route. There are only going to be a dozen of us, and it's going to be quite uncomfortable, because we're going to be sleeping in the Jumpers,"

"I guess it'll be more comfortable on a ship that is actually designed to fly in space," she said. "You be careful. No heroics, you hear?"

"No promises!" Rodney chuckled. "See you on the other side. It's only four days,"

"That's four too many, but it'll be nice to be back," Jennifer said. "Now get back to your vital work, Doctor!"

"Yes ma'am," Rodney said, turning and gesturing to Chuck, who signalled Colonel Ronson on the _Enterprise._ Keller's group disappeared in flashes of light.

"Sheppard," McKay said over his radio.

"_I read you,"_ the colonel said.

"You're clear to bring the Jumper down now,"

Sheppard responded by opening the bay doors. The Jumper eased down a few moments later and parked it's nose in the Stargate, preventing any unwelcome surprises and finally allowing the SGC's gate to be dialled from offworld without jumping the wormhole or going via the Alpha Site.

Sheppard wandered out of the Jumper and up to Rodney.

"I'm going down to the chair now," he said. "Contact me when you've connected the Jumper to the city's systems,"

With that, he clapped Rodney on the back and sauntered out of the gateroom, leaving McKay to wonder if it might be practical to clone himself. Being a genius was tough sometimes.

–

**Genii Prime, Pegasus Galaxy**

The Stargate on the Genii homeworld was always guarded, and by the Genii's most elite soldiers. It would have been foolish for any enemies to assume otherwise. Their world had seen a great upheaval over the past few months, along with many controversial changes.

For this reason, the arrival of an armoured figure through the Stargate was expected, but still treated with caution.

The leader of the guard division greeted the figure, and enquired as to the hooded and bound figure that the armoured man had dragged through.

"_The prisoner, as agreed with your leadership,"_ was all the armoured man said, in a gutteral, artificial voice.

"Very well," the guard said. "The Chief is this way,"

The unlikely trio made their way towards one of the quaint decoy farmhouses that led to the vast subterranean city.

The guard did not make small talk with the mysterious armoured man. Very few among the Genii knew who were below the masks, and he was not one of them. He also had suspicions as to who the pitiful figure being dragged behind them was, but he also kept them to himself.

The first encounter had been when a small ship had landed near the Stargate several months ago. Since then, armoured figures had come and gone through the Stargate. Several Genii had dared venture to the address from which their visitors had come.

None had returned.

It was with some relief that the guard reached the Chief's anteroom. The armoured figure strode in without a second look at his guide, dragging his prisoner with him.

The Chief was at his desk, drumming his fingers on the wood. The visitors had never been late, and today was no different. The door opened, admitting the armoured figure.

"_Greetings, Chief Athor, on behalf of the Vanir. I am __Helblindi"_ it said.

"It's a pleasure," Chief Athor said gruffly. "Is that him?"

"_As per our agreement,"_ Helblindi said, whipping the hood from the prisoner's face. _"Ladon Radim, your predecessor,"_

Athor regarded Ladon with a sneer.

"At last, the weakling who would dilute the strength of the Genii and make us vassals to others," Athor said softly, rising from his seat. "What have you to say for yourself?"

"I have nothing to say to you," Ladon spat. Athor chuckled, activating the intercom on his desk.

"Send in a guard," he said.

Moments later, the door opened, admitting a soldier.

"Take him to a cell," Athor said, gesturing dismissively towards the former Genii leader.

"Let us get to business, Helblindi," he said, as Ladon was dragged out. "When will we be able to move to the next phase?"

"_Soon," _Helblindi said._ "The Atlanteans still have only one ship in this galaxy, which is attempting to locate the main Wraith planets. Atlantis itself is still nowhere to be found, and we believe the ship is operating out of a smaller base,"_

"Was the intelligence we gathered on the movements of the Wraith useful?"

"_It was. There are a smaller number of consolidated factions now," _Helblindi said, taking a small device out of his armour, and activating it to show a holographic map of the galaxy, with a number of planets of interest highlighted. _"These are their main worlds, although there appears to be one faction more powerful than the others, and its leader has considerable charisma, aiding his attempts to unify the factions,"_

"That's a worry,"

"_Yes, it is. A plan is being formulated to disrupt this. It is likely that it will require Genii resources to be successful,"_

"Anything you want. They're the biggest threat to both of us at this point,"

"_That is reassuring. I will take your consent back to the leaders of the Vanir, and I will return within the week," _Helblindi intoned, drawing the meeting to a close.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Athor said cheerfully. _Soon, Acastus will be avenged. The Wraith aren't our only enemies, _he thought, as Helblindi strode out of the room.

**Atlantis, Earth Orbit, Milky Way**

The city's takeoff had been uneventful, leaving no environmental damage behind them. The customary tsunami at liftoff had been averted by a more power-hungry but overall gentler flight profile.

McKay was checking the sensor screens when Sheppard's voice echoed through the control room. _"Approaching fleet rendez-vous,"_

"Screens up here confirm, John," McKay replied. "Signalling _Enterprise_ now,"

McKay tapped a few controls. The icons representing their escorts, the Pegasus Fleet, consisting of _Enterprise, Daedalus, Odyssey and Ajax _blinked softly, getting nearer to the city. _Sun Tzu _was loitering over M35-117 and would return to Earth once Atlantis landed.

There were also a few other contacts on the screen. The _Gagarin _and the _Hammond_ had press contingents aboard, covering Atlantis's departure, which was a novelty for all concerned. The relative ease with which space could now be accessed had yet to sink in for some. Homeworld Security and the IOA were looking for a big PR event, and McKay had heard rumours that the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's landing would be conducted on the moon itself, to demonstrate the new frontier. Carter's moon base idea was moving forwards also, with sites at the lunar poles being surveyed.

"_Enterprise_, this is Atlantis. Ready to ship out on your mark," he said.

"_Atlantis, Enterprise Actual,"_ came the voice of Colonel Ronson. _"Hyperspace activation will be in a quarter-orbit's time, synchronise mission clock at T-minus twenty minutes on my mark,"_

"Enterprise, Atlantis. Copy that," McKay said.

"_T-minus twenty minutes in three, two, one, mark,"_

"Clock set and running, have a good trip,"

"_You too, Doctor. Enterprise Actual out,"_

McKay turned and surveyed the small contingent in the control room.

"Banks, take the next shift. I'll be down in the Jumper, having some lunch and then twiddling my thumbs," he said, gesturing towards the small ship in the gateroom below.

--

Apologies for the shorter chapter. For some reason I keep getting the urge to write a SG/nBSG crossover, and I keep thinking about that. Weird. Might also start up As According to Plan again.

The Earth ships have been divided into two fleets. In Pegasus there will be _Enterprise_, _Odyssey, Daedalus_ and _Ajax_. In the Milky Way there is _Sun Tzu, George Hammond_ and _Gagarin_.

The Vanir are playing Tok'ra to the Genii's Tau'ri, in that one side has advanced technology but with relatively limited manpower, while the other has plenty of bodies to throw at a situation in a low-tech way. I'm also thinking how the Daedaus Variations aliens and their funky Star Destroyer could fit into this, if at all.  
Athor is mentioned by Sora (who might turn up later, who knows) as being a friend of Kolya and also the influential father of one of the soldiers killed by the gate shield during Kolya's takeover of the city.


End file.
